Possibilities in New Beginnings

I’m finally have some job prospects. My recruiter at Robert Half acquired a job interview for me last week with a company called Kellen. It provides management and consulting services to non-profit organizations. I interviewed on Wednesday, one of the few interviews I’ve had that went off very well. Friday morning, my recruiter called me and asked if I could go in for another interview (same company, different manager) that very day. I don’t think that meeting went as smoothly, but I think I’m still being considered. I think the next step is to meet with the CFO. The position is referred to as an associate controller, and it’s a six month contract with a possibility to be hired full time at the end of the term. The office absolutely gorgeous, close to my house, convenient to my jiu jitsu school, and, perhaps best of all, has garage parking. My recruiter contacted me yesterday, informing me that he’d get in touch with Graham, the most recent interviewer, this coming Tuesday. I really hope the next step is that interview with the CFO and not an offer, for reasons I’ll soon discuss.

The day of my first interview with Kellen, I received an email response for another position to which I had previously applied. This one is an entry level position with a capital management firm. It wouldn’t pay as much as the other, but the job would be easier, and the office is exceptionally close to my house. We’re talking a 15 minute drive at most. The manager scheduled an phone interview that Friday almost right after my Kellen interview. The interview was awkward, but for once it wasn’t my fault. The fellow, John, was very much a rambler. In what may have been an actual first for one of my interviews, there were no uncomfortable pauses or lulls in the conversation. As soon as I answered one of his questions or responded to one of his comments, off he went. Maybe working for someone like that would become tiresome, but it was nice for the hot seat to not feel uncomfortable for a change. He sent me text today asking to schedule an interview for the week of July 11th.

Not only that, another possibility came completely our of nowhere. Well, not completely out of nowhere, but just as well. Months ago, I put in an application for a full time teaching position at a technical school near my university. I figured I didn’t make the cut, but Tuesday morning, I received a phone call from the dean of the business program asking me to come in for an interview on Friday, so that was my day today. Unfortunately, I don’t think I gave a very strong performance during the interview. I’ve never taught as a profession, and some of the questions sounded like they were for candidates who were already experienced as a teacher. For example, one of the questions was how I would manage my time balancing my duties teaching, preparing lesson plans, serving as an advisor, and a few other things I don’t have actual experience doing.

Probably, my weakest moment was the teaching simulation. I was asked to prepare a five minute Power Point presentation on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Five minutes is not a lot of time to cover any topic, especially Sarbanes-Oxley. Nevertheless, I made my slide show, practiced my speech, and figured if I went over my a minute or two, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Well, the dean set a hard five minute limit, and during the presentation, he and the rest of the panel interviewer acted like students, being disruptive of sorts, making inane comments, pretending to sleep, etc. I didn’t get halfway through my presentation before my time was up, and I had to email my presentation to the dean before the interview, so he’ll know how poorly I planned my lesson. This job is probably my first choice, but I doubt I’ll get it. I know they want to bring back those who make the cut for another interview in a couple of weeks, and they’d like to make a decision by July 15th. All that said, if I get an offer from Kellen before hearing back from this college, I’ll have to accept it. I can’t in good conscience turn down a solid offer for one that probably won’t materialize. That’s why I hope Kellen wants to schedule another interview, provided the last one, instead of give me an offer. If such is the case, I can likely schedule it the following week, giving me time to receive this position’s acceptance or rejection. I really don’t care which, as long as I know before making a decision regarding either of the other two jobs.

Last updated June 29, 2018